A very ambitious but focused brief…
4 years ago a height safety client (let’s call them Heaven for ease) came to us with a very specific request.
Heaven had an existing relationship with a shopping centre chain (let’s call them Retail Mania for ease) that had multiple large facilities across the whole of Australia. My clients only had the contract for a small handful of this portfolio – just 2-3 shopping centres.
Heaven’s goal was simple, they wanted to establish a strong relationship with Retail Mania and win consultancy contracts for all its facilities across Australia.
A simple ask for a mighty goal.
A brave investment into just 1 story
We love a client with focus and clear growth ambitions.
Together, we spent a whopping 21 hours on the story!! While that may not seem a lot at first, keep in mind that most articles take between 4 – 7 hours to write.
Critically, we did the following:
- We framed the client as the hero – focusing on 2 decision makers at different levels of Retail Mania
- We celebrated the values of the key characters – values that corresponded with Heaven’s differentiation
- We outlined a simplified version of the process ahead – demonstrating how it was easy and achievable
- We signposted the outcomes front and centre so that the audiences were clear that the value unlocked far exceeded the cost
An ultra-short email campaign
Despite only operating across only a handful of Retail Mania’s facilities, Heaven was brilliant to have built a database of all the contacts they had interacted with along the way.
These contacts were consolidated into an email list.
We sent out 1 simple text-based email – no fancy newsletter format, no competing call-to-actions.
The email was personalised and human. No “sales” speak.
The call to action simply invited them to celebrate their fellow colleagues. Heaven understood that the email and article’s purpose was to nurture. Nurture trust by celebrating an already successful relationship. Nurture trust by assuring the target audience that their other colleagues in Retail Mania had enjoyed similar success with Heaven. Nurture trust by helping similar decision makers feel confident that they would be safe with Heaven.
The incredible outcome
The relationship broadened and strengthened.
The email and article went viral within Retail Mania. Other decision makers wanted the same outcomes and requested so internally from head office. And the decision became a no-brainer.
Over the last 4 years, Heaven has won millions of dollars worth of work across Australia with Retail Mania. And they are not even half way through the building portfolio.
The power of brand storytelling
From an ROI perspective, client stories is the most powerful content marketing tool in the playbook. It is a trust building tool unlike any other. And while it is tempting to fancy-up email marketing – simple is often the best option.
At Catalyst Content, we help our clients get strategic about the stories they tell. We also run courses to help business owners become better storytellers.
